Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 153

Noreen couldn't help but laugh in disbelief at Seth's casual, dismissive response.

He knew full well that Jude was stirring up trouble on purpose, sabotaging her for his own amusement. Yet Seth still chose to believe Jude's side of the story, as if she were the one at fault.

She didn't buy for a second that Seth couldn't see through Jude's clumsy ploys. He simply allowed it—again and again—letting Jude humiliate and torment her as he pleased.

Fury churned inside Noreen, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears, her voice sharp as ice.

"Well, since you're being so generous, Mr. Harcourt, why don't you pay me a hundred thousand dollars in damages?"

Seth hadn't even responded when Jude cut in with a mocking laugh. "Are you trying to blackmail us or something? It's just a laptop. Even the fanciest one isn't worth that much."

"Then we'll pay the highest possible price," Seth said flatly, making the decision for everyone.

He sounded as if he was doing Noreen a favor, as though this should be more than enough to appease her—if only she knew her place.

He checked the price on his phone, wrote her a check, handed it over, and left without another word. Clearly, he was in a hurry to catch up with Bianca.

Noreen swallowed her indignation, while Jude looked more pleased than ever.

"See it now, Noreen? You mean nothing to Seth. Not before, not now."

He kicked aside her scattered brochures, smirking as he spoke. "Let me be honest: I trashed your booth on purpose. What are you going to do about it? And that prime spot you worked so hard to secure for your team? One word from me and it's gone."

"So here's the deal: from now on, steer clear of me, Noreen. I'm the kind of guy you'll never be able to handle."

His eyes flicked to the check—twenty grand, according to the amount scrawled across it—and he let out a sneering laugh. "This is all you're worth. You're nothing compared to Bianca. Seth gave her her own project, no budget limits, no restrictions—took her to every important dinner, introduced her to all his contacts, pulled every string to give her the best platform possible, to lift her career."

"Oh, and I only avoid bad luck. If you want to admit you're bad luck, I'll be happy to steer clear."

"Noreen!" Jude finally lost it.

She glanced at him with pure disdain, mimicking Seth's earlier tone, "Whatever the damages, I'll pay you back at full price."

"And don't get greedy, or I might just report you for extortion."

With that, she tossed Seth's check at him as if it were trash.

Better to let garbage end up where it belongs.

Jude was left sputtering, furious at the humiliation. But before he could retaliate, a group of security guards approached to ask what was going on.